Spiffy:

Iffy:

Elves are kinda goofy, aren't they?

One of the many aspects that sets Tolkien's mythology apart from most other fictional fantasy worlds is its immense amount of background detail. Tolkien chronicled the struggles of massive wars, the travails of lost heroes, feats of enduring sacrifice, songs of lost love, tragic tales of innocence corrupted... It was enough material to fill dozens of typical novels, but all of this spectacle happened thousands of years before Bilbo Baggins ever left The Shire. Though it's not officially affiliated with Tolkien, CDV and 10tacle Studios' Elveon, a new action-RPG, looks to follow his lead, plunging players into the meticulously planned mythology of a race of proud elves.

But unlike The Lord of the Rings, Elveon will depict its historic events as they happen, plunging you directly into the fray so that your actions form the basis of future legends. In Elveon, you're not just reading history, you've making it. Fake history, anyway.

The elves in question are descendants of ancient gods, prideful beings who strive for perfection in every aspect of their lengthy lives. Four main lines exist: the Aegans, the Parthans, the Taethans and the Merians. Each has its own distinctive culture, deities, combat preferences and overall goals. They all share a common Elvish language, though, which 10tacle Studios has developed especially for this game. See, these guys aren't kidding around with the painstaking detail stuff. (I'm guessing "created an authentic Elvish language" either looks really good or really bad on one's resume.)

Elves with Sharp Objects

Beyond all the nifty lore and background stuff, Elveon is a third-person combat game with a little infusion of RPG elements. It's not due out for almost a year, so the developers haven't nailed down every final detail yet. For example, they're considering making the Xbox 360 version more action-oriented, while giving a bit more role-playing depth to the PC game. Vague, eh? The PC-based demo I checked out, however, fell squarely into the action category.

Elveon's gameplay could be described as a free-roaming take on Soul Calibur with multiple opponents but without the button-mashing. The developers are aiming for a certain austere elegance in the combat system, to match the elegance of the Elven cultures they've created. Everything is motion-captured from real-life martial artists, whose movements were based on actual "Elven" fighting styles developed for this game.

As mentioned, button-mashing won't get you very far. Rapid strikes will leave you vulnerable, as well as drain your stamina meter, which you really don't want to bleed dry. As such, you've got a very useful defensive dash to help get you out of trouble, as well as a block move. But as with the attacks, the block requires somewhat precise timing to use, not unlike the parries in Soul Calibur. It took me a good ten tries in the practice fight to get the timing down, but I was rewarded with the ability to segue into a powerful counterattack -- if I wanted to risk eating damage. It's a nice risk/reward mechanic.